Inspiration
by jokesarefunny
Summary: Cassie moves back to La Push to live with her mother after she graduates high school. She's looking for a little inspiration. A certain werewolf may help her find it.
1. Chapter 1

Chapter 1

Two days before I left, I got into an enormous argument with my dad.

I don't usually fight with him, but when I do, it's messy. And when I say messy, I don't mean we scream at each other until our feelings are so beyond hurt that we can't bear to talk to each other for days. That's my mother. I mean the kind of messy that takes hours to clean up.

I don't remember now what we were even fighting about, but I do remember cleaning the angry red stain of spaghetti sauce off the walls and the smell of milk off the hardwood floors of our kitchen.

A few feet from where I was scrubbing the residue of syrup off the table my father stood looking at the floor guiltily.

"Cassie..." he said rubbing the back of his neck and sighing roughly, "you're not going to be happy when I tell you this and I'm not in the mood for another fight, and it's happening now no matter what, so please just let this go gently, alright?"

His wordy speech caught me off guard. My father was not one for talking, _ever_. That was the biggest reason why our disagreements so often ended in food being thrown across the room.

I took a deep breath and turned to look at him with narrowed eyes.

"What's going on?" I asked, my tone sharp.

"I got a job offer... and I'm moving to France. I can't really afford to move you there too... So I pulled some strings... and you're moving to La Push with your mother."

It wasn't a bad idea, actually. I was nineteen, done with high school, and had no idea what I wanted to do with my life. I had little interest in going to college right away, after twelve straight years of schooling in the dreary public education system, it just didn't sound appealing. Maybe this was just what I needed to get some inspiration.

My first thought after that wasn't that my "inspiration" was all the way across the the country, or that I was moving to a small reservation with Dial-Up Internet, but that I was going to have to sleep in the same house as my mother. I'd heard from my second-cousin Leah and my Aunt Emily that ever since the divorce she'd been sleeping around. I wouldn't be so against it since she was a single woman, but her actions had already caused for me to acquire a half-sister – Claire.

This wouldn't only give me the opportunity to find myself, but get to know her a little better. I had only met my now five year old sister once, a few days after she was born. I took a short trip to visit her in the hospital, and after I got to hold her for a whopping three minutes, I was shooed away by the nurses. I then stayed in my mom's house alone for two days and after that ordeal I didn't feel much like visiting La Push anymore.

"Okay, you'll send me cheese when you get to France, right?" I said nonchalantly and went back to scrubbing the table. My father seemed surprised.

"You do realize what I just said?" His voice was thick with disbelief.

"Yeah, I heard you, and you do realize what I just said? Send me some cheese. You know how I like my Gouda."

"Thanks, Cassie, for taking this so well. Your mother is expecting a call." He patted me on the back awkwardly and went to his room presumably to pack.

So I called my mom, got onto a plane two days later, and there I was.

In La Push.

It was raining, of course. But other than that, the weather was a nice break from the heat of my Georgia home.

I arrived past midnight so I took a taxi to my new home on the res. It was a cute little house, white with a red door, and a Play School picnic table out front. One of the benches was caved in, and I couldn't help but wonder why. I would find my answer sooner than I thought possible.

I crept into the house as quietly as I could, setting my suitcase and carry on near the door while I tiptoed towards my bedroom. I was so exhausted I would worry about unpacking and everything come morning – I didn't even have enough energy to change into my pajamas.

I knew the house well enough that I didn't have to turn on any lights to get to my room, and I did just that before collapsing onto my queen sized bed.

It was lumpier and a lot warmer than I remembered, and I snuggled into the comforter. Then it moved. It all happened so quickly then.

A man's scream came from underneath me and I realized it wasn't the comforter I was snuggling into, it was _him. _I too screamed at this realization, and then my mother burst into the room, turning the light on and revealing the man I had practically dry humped.

He was HUGE for one thing. Once he stood up and backed away from me I could tell he was at least six foot. He was tan, much like me and my mother and he had slightly curly hair.

"Who _are _you?!" I spat.

"Who are _you_?!" He yelped.

"What are you doing in my bed?"  
"I didn't know that it was going to be occupied by anyone but me!"

"But – what – WHO ARE YOU?!" My mother stood by and watched us yell at each other hysterically, not thinking to intervene. Thankfully someone else did.

"Quilly?" A small voice said from the doorway next to my mom. He turned immediately away from me and looked to my five year old half-sister, Claire.

"Oh, I'm so sorry Claire-Bear, I didn't mean to wake you. Go back to bed honey, I'll tuck you in in a second." His voice softened when he talked to her. She didn't move from the doorway, she just crossed her arms and raised one of her little eyebrows. I scrunched my eyebrows in confusion.

"What the heck?" I censored for the sake of the five year old in the room. I looked between my mother, "Quilly", and Claire. "Are you guys dating or something?"  
This man did look really young for my mother, but at the same time... he looked about twenty-five, and who knows what kind of guy she was into. Ew.

Claire giggled. "Ew," she said in a high pitched squeak, voicing my own thoughts.

"No, honey, we're not dating," my mother said like it was obvious. "This is Quil Ateara." If I had a choice of any of the questions I wanted answered that wouldn't be the first one I'd choose.

"Okay I'm gonna take this one step at a time. What were you doing in my bed?" I asked Quil, taking a deep breath.

"Sleeping," he said like it was obvious.

"Arghhh!" I yelled. "It's too late for this. I'm going to bed. We'll talk about this in the morning."

"You can sleep on the couch if you want, Quil." My mother said.

"Thanks Tara, I'll have to take you up on that." He replied as the three walked out of the room. Something weird was going on in this house.

* * *

**A/N: Eeep! The first chapter! I have a few others written already so it won't be long until I update again. **

**Please review! Tell me what you like, what you don't, I'm an aspiring writer and hope to do more than fanfiction someday, you can help me improve :) **


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

When I awoke the next morning to a squealing five year old jumping on my bed, my distaste for Quil Ateara intensified.

He stood behind Claire, arms crossed, watching her with an entertained look on his smug little face. It took all I had in me not to send him the middle finger.

"Really, kiddo?" I garbled to Claire, who was now sitting down criss cross applesauce on the bed, with as much pleasantness as I could muster up. She giggled in response.

"She wanted to," Quil supplied in explanation and I shot him a deathly look.

"So who are you, exactly?" I asked him tersely. Quil sighed.

"It's hard to explain..."

"Try me."

"Well, I'm a... friend of Emily and Sam's, and I met Tara and Claire through them. I ended up babysitting Claire-Bear a lot in the earlier years and I guess now I'm like a personal nanny." His speech was stiff and seemed like a message he'd repeated many times. Either that, or he was just a terrible liar.

"So you're not a pedophile?" I asked, eyes narrowed. His face twisted in disgust immediately after the words left my mouth.

"God, no." This reaction was more comforting than his previous answer, and I decided I was pacified enough for the moment.

"Hey Clairey, can you get off my legs for a minute? I'm gonna go take a shower." I said gently to her.

"Sure Cassie," she giggled and stood up again only to jump into Quil's waiting arms. If he made her happy I guess I would tolerate his presence. His face was that of surprise.

"She likes you." He said shortly. "She doesn't like when anyone calls her Clairey." My smile wasn't as large as I would usually let on. I didn't want to show weakness in front of my newfound enemy.

"Well, she's my sister." I said smugly and waltzed to the bathroom.

Unfortunately I forgot that my suitcases still resided next to the front door, and I was left without anything to put on after I was done showering. I had already thrown my clothes from the previous day down the laundry chute.

From there I was faced with two equally embarrassing options: either to yell to Quil to bring my suitcases to the bathroom, or get them myself with nothing but the Dora the Explorer towel covering me.

And rule number one in my book is to never ask the enemy for help. So naturally, I twisted the towel around myself and tucked the end in a tight knot, and darted out to where my suitcases were.

But when I got to the spot I was _sure _I dropped them off at yesterday, they were gone. Vanished. Kaput.

"Crap," I whispered under my breath. I didn't want anyone to notice I was out of the bathroom. I'd been achieving the mission of stealth thus far.

But somehow my quietest whisper still alerted Quil to my presence.  
"Cassie?" His deep voice called from across the house. "Are you looking for something?" I could detect the slight traces of tease in his tone. I walked over to his side of the house faster than I thought possible.

"What. Is. Your. Problem?!" I ground out, almost shaking. Quil looked amused.

"Whoa, calm down sweetheart, you look like you're about to explode."

"You think you're funny, don't you." I said, my voice dripping with faux sweetness. "Sweetheart? Really?" Quil shrugged his enormous shoulders. "You have to the count of ten to tell me where my suitcases are or you're dead."

Quil burst into laughter.

"What are you gonna do, Dora the Explorer?!" He coughed out between laughs. I scowled and turned to Claire who was playing with a small plastic tea set innocently.

"Hey Clairey, do you know where Quil put my suitcases?" Quil's laughter ceased.

"Please Claire-Bear don't tell her," he pleaded. Claire looked between the two of us with an inquisitive look on her petite face.

"I'll only tell you where Quilly put them if you play tea with us," she said, smiling the same smile I saw on Quil not a minute earlier. He poisoned my little sister with his devilish ways.

"Okay, I'll play with you right after I put some clothes on," I promised. I should have known I wouldn't get let off that easily. "Where did he put them, Claire?"

"No," she said. "I'll tell you _after_ we play tea." I sighed and closed my eyes slowly in defeat. Quil proceeded to laugh his head off again and I shot him another one of my grade A death stares. "_Aaaaannndd, _I want you and Quilly to stop fighting."

That shut him up quick. He looked at her with wide eyes and Claire just narrowed hers resolutely right back at him. It was almost like she had control over him.

"Fiiiineee," he whined. "I'll be nice to her. Now let's play tea. I don't fancy Cassie in that towel any more than she does I'm sure."

* * *

About an hour later I had acquired my suitcases from under Claire's bed (not a very original hiding place) and also a crick in my back from sitting awkwardly. Not revealing anything unsightly to either Claire or Quil required me to sit in a very awkward position.

I went back in the living room shortly thereafter only to walk out the front door a minute later. Voluntarily spending more time with Quil Ateara was not on my to-do list.

The fresh Washington air was a nice change from the heavy heat I was so used to. It wasn't quite raining, it was more like a light mist that settled over my body. The sky was cloudy and gray but it was bright enough outside that it almost qualified as a sunny day here in La Push.

If I had moved anywhere else I would have considered purchasing a car before my arrival but my Aunt Emily had assured me that her and her husband would help me find one cheap. Some of Sam's friends opened a garage not too long ago and had some fixer-uppers laying around.

It wasn't a far walk to her house and before I knew it I was being enveloped by her comforting arms.

"Cassie, I've missed you so much!" She squealed into my ear, hugging me tighter than I thought possible. That is, until Sam swooped me up into an even tighter embrace. He was bigger than I remembered. Even larger than Quil.

"So how are you settling in?" Sam asked me as Emily passed me a cup of tea. We sat across from each other at the counter but I could still feel the heat radiating off him.

"Well, it's been interesting to say the very least," I supplied. Emily and Sam exchanged a knowing glance.

"I take it you've met Quil," Emily said sympathetically.

"Yeah... I've met him alright." I launched into the tale of our unfortunate introduction, then the suitcase ordeal and by the end Emily and Sam were almost crying with laughter.

"Did I mention how much I missed you?" Emily gasped, trying to catch her breath. I moved away from the reservation when I was eight years old, but Emily and I kept in touch with letters, and later phone calls, so we knew each other well. Over the years I'd visited sparingly, but some Christmases, birthdays, and weddings when my family was forced to visit, it was like I was never gone. When my parents divorced when I was thirteen, I went to live with my dad in Georgia and my mother moved back to La Push. After that I visited only once, when Claire was born.

"Only a million times," I joked back. Emily and I had always never thought of each other as aunt and niece, we were more like cousins because of the age difference. She was five years my senior, but she never treated me like I was younger than her.

"Well I have. About that car I promised you, I'll give you a ride down to the Garage. It doesn't really have a name, the guys just call it, "The Garage." Lame, right?" Emily rolled her eyes.

"How far is it? I can just walk."

"You shouldn't wander around outside alone, Cassie." Sam said, suddenly serious. "It's dangerous out there." I glanced at Emily, who looked equally grim. Though I couldn't blame her, she did get attacked by a bear.

"Alrighty then, let's get going." I agreed.

The drive really was short to the Garage, I could've easily walked, but if it made Em feel at ease...

The Garage was exactly what it sounded like. It was a moderately sized garage, painted red – at the order of one of the wives I'm sure. There was no sign, but there was a large chalkboard like you would see outside of a small restaurant or cafe that read "Come on in!" in big block letters. The blue writing was faded but still readable.

Emily peeked her head inside, where there were a few cars but nobody working on them. I felt out of my element surrounded by all the tools and grease. I'd never been good at that sort of thing, but willing to learn.

"Jake?" Emily called, walking further into the garage. "Paul? Is anybody in here?" I heard a booming laugh coming from the office in the back of the building.

"In here, Em," someone yelled back, laughter following their statement. She stalked towards the door and knocked on the glass window. There were white stickers on the glass: "Paul Lahote and Jacob Black" and smaller letters underneath: "CEOs"

Emily looked at me and rolled her eyes before saying, "Argued for days before they decided whose name was going first. Finally Paul just put them on one night," she laughed at the memory. "You should've seen Jake's face when he saw that."

It would've been funnier if I knew who Jacob or Paul _were, _but I smiled anyway. As if on cue, the door opened then to reveal yet another giant tan man.

"What is it _with_ you people?" I blurted. Usually I wouldn't feel bad but he was supposed to be hooking me up with a car so I had the decency to look embarrassed. My eyes met the floor instead of his.

"What _is _it with us?" he said with a mocking tone eerily similar to Quil's. That made me look up. I needed to compare facial features. But as soon as I met the man's eyes the snarky comment coming to my lips was lost.

They were like pools of chocolate gold. And his face looked nothing like Quil Ateara's, thankfully. It was much better. I almost wanted to... wait. What was I thinking? I shook my head to clear my betraying thoughts.

"Yeah, are all of you on steroids?" I snapped, seemingly catching the man off guard. His face changed quickly from the intense stare he was giving me, to a pissed off expression. He glanced to Emily, who looked like she just saw a ghost, then back to me.

"I don't know about Paul, but I'm definitely not!" A cheery voice said from behind the door. I peered around the man – Paul – to see another tall young fellow sitting at a desk.

"Ahhh, so if this is Paul, you must be Jacob?" I said, squeezing past Paul who was now whispering heatedly with Emily. The boy smiled widely and nodded his head.

"Smart one. You must be Cassie. I've heard a lot about you." I raised an eyebrow, and he chuckled before continuing. "Emily hasn't shut up about you since Tara told her you were coming. _Everyone _on the res must've known you were coming."

"Not _everyone _knew I was coming, evidently." I said, smiling.

"What do you mean?"

"When I first got here, Quil Ateara was sleeping on my bed. You know him? Tan, muscle-y, about yay high?" I motioned about a foot above my head. Jacob's booming laugh was cut off by Paul grabbing my shoulders and spinning me around.

"Quil was sleeping in your bed?" he said hotly, shaking slightly and holding my shoulders with a monster grip.

"Ouch, dude, let go of me!" I said, face twisting in anger. He let go immediately and looked like he was just told his mother died.

"Oh my god, I'm so sorry. Are you okay?!" His sudden mood change caught me off guard. I laughed a little in my confusion and his posture relaxed.

"Uh, yeah I'm fine..."  
What was with this dude?

"Soooo..." Jacob said from next to me. I jumped, surprised at the sudden sound and Paul gave Jake a death glare. "How about that car we promised you?"

* * *

**A/N: As promised, here is the second chapter. I couldn't leave you guys hanging with barely a premise. **

**After this the updates won't be quite so speedy, I ****_do _****have a life. I can try to get them to you every few days or once a week tops. Thank you so much for following so far! Please please please review! :) **


	3. Chapter 3

Chapter 3

"We have three cars available right now," Jacob said, leading me outside and to the back of the building. Emily stayed behind in the office to "tidy up." That office needed more than a tidying up. It needed a deep cleaning.

"But if you don't like them, we can always pull some strings," Paul added hastily. I nodded and looked at the three large shapes covered with blue tarps. Jake pulled off the first one to reveal a white car, don't ask me the model. Under the second tarp was a beige Toyota.

Jake paused to look at me before lifting the third tarp.

"You probably won't even like this one."

"Just take it off," I said, shaking my head. He shrugged, pulled off the tarp and...

He was right. I hated it.

Paul laughed from beside me, probably at the look on my face.

It had to be the ugliest car I'd ever seen. It was puke green, and it was a convertible with a nasty cream colored removable top. The car looked like it was in nice condition, but I would rather lick the bottom of my shoe than be caught driving it.

"So?" Jacob asked hesitantly.

"She doesn't like any of them!" Paul's large form was almost doubled over laughing by then, for reasons unknown. Jacob, on the other hand looked like a moody teenage boy that just got sent to his room.

"Why is Renesmee _always _right?!" He mumbled, so faintly I was surprised I could hear it.

"Who's Renesmee?" I wondered aloud and Paul stopped laughing abruptly.

"You heard that?" Jacob asked incredulously. I laughed a bit before I realized he wasn't joking.

"Yeah, I guess," I said slowly. "Why? Was I not supposed to?" I looked between the two boys with curious eyes, but they didn't show any sign of hearing my response, they just continued looking at me like I was a complex math problem they just couldn't figure out.

Paul finally broke the silence.

"I might have another car for you."

Jake thankfully tore his eyes from my face to look at Paul with confusion. They looked at each other for a minute, almost having a silent conversation with their intense stares. Paul nodded slightly and his gaze flickered to mine.

"Follow me..." Jacob said, sounding forlorn. He lead me to the inside of the garage, in the very back. His hand paused at the edge of the tarp and he turned to look at me. "This is my baby... She's a 1984 Volkswagen Rabbit. Built her from scratch. I don't drive her much anymore, though... I have connections that have given me bigger and better."

I smiled slightly and nodded and he yanked back the tarp to reveal a charming pickup. It was light blue, and a bit old, but it looked reliable. I quite liked it, actually.

"It's perfect!" I exclaimed, but then quickly corrected myself. Jacob looked devastated. "But you don't have to part with it, I'd be happy to take any of those cars out back."

That was a blatant lie. I didn't like any of those cars, Paul was right. I just didn't want him to set the price too high.

Wow, I'm mean.

"No, no, Cassie. That's not necessary. Jake was going to sell this because we needed the garage space anyway, right?" Paul cut in, looking at Jacob expectantly. Jake opened his mouth as if to protest, but then he took a deep breath and nodded.

"Yeah, he's right, we do need the space," his tone was honest which made me feel somewhat reassured that I wasn't breaking his heart. And that he wouldn't overcharge me.

"Thank you, Jacob," I said genuinely. "And thank you, Paul. How much do I owe you guys?"

"Four thousand."

"Nothing!"

Two voices spoke at the same time and Paul and Jacob turned to look at each other.

"She doesn't need to pay," Paul said, his tone oozing firmness. Jacob looked at Paul angrily for a second before grabbing his arm and pulling him outside of the building.

Either way, I wasn't too worried about the price. Four thousand wasn't out of my price range. I took the opportunity of my time alone to scope out my new truck.

The seats were a nice light beige leather, and the car itself looked barely used. I tugged on the metal handles which opened easily, and jumped inside the cab of the truck. I ran my fingers over the smooth ridges of the steering wheel and smiled. My dad used to have a pickup truck similar to this one back in Georgia. Pickups seemed to be a part of the southern lifestyle I wasn't giving up.

Along with iced tea, peaches, country music...

"You'll take care of her, right?" Jacob's voice carried from the entrance of the garage, shaking me out of my thoughts. His statement sounded like something you would hear a father say to his daughter's fiancé.

"Of course."

"You can have her for two thousand." My eyebrows shot up.

"Two thousand?! Are you sure?!" When Emily said she would get me a car cheap, I was thinking five thousand or so. This was a bargain, especially for a barely used car built from scratch. I had a lot of money saved up over the years. At fourteen I started babysitting. When I was fifteen, I started working at the Ice Cream Shack in Georgia. And after two years of that I got another job at a clothing store. Two thousand barely took a dent out of my stash.

"Yep. Paul's getting the papers ready in the office right now."

I followed him back to the office, where all I had to do was sign my name on a few lines, and a check for two thousand, and the car was mine. Jacob handed Paul the keys ceremonially and Paul smiled at me with them dangling from his hand.

"She's all yours," he placed the keys in my hand as I reached for them and our fingertips grazed. It was like electricity shooting through my arm. But it didn't hurt, it felt _good._ It made me want to grab onto him and never let go.

Wait... what?

Needy much. I had known the guy for like half and hour. I should _not _be feeling like this. No, no, no. I was not my slutty mother.

"Uhh, thanks so much, but I should really be going," I said quickly, grabbing the papers off the desk and waving to Emily before I darted out of the room and into the car, starting it up and revving the engine before high-tailing it out of there.

Holy crap.

* * *

I flopped onto the couch immediately after I got home.

I really freaked myself out back there. I didn't want to be one of those creepy stalker girls that banged a guy on the first date. Or the same night that they met them at a party.

A lot like my mother does.

I was not my mother. And never would be.

"Woah, Cassie!" Quil's deep voice interrupted my inner monologue. "Isn't this perfect. Now you can watch Claire while I go to work. I was going to drop her off at Emily's."

"Yeah, that's fine, where is she?" I said without any hint of sass in my voice. I felt like I needed a nap after my already jam-packed day.

"Napping, dude, she was up late last night because you woke her up."

"That was your fault," I pointed out. He shook his head.

"No way, I was just sleeping, you're the one that jumped on me."

"It's _my_ bed and Emily said everyone knew I was coming, why didn't _you_?" my voice started to get a little louder, Quil tended to push my buttons. He widened his eyes and pulled a finger to his mouth.

"She's sleeping," he reminded me, walking towards the door. "I gotta go to work."

* * *

Claire didn't stay asleep for long. "Where's Quilly?" her high pitched squeak buried the hushed volume of the TV.

"He had to go to work, come watch TV with me," I said, patting the place on the couch next to me. She shook her head, feet not wavering from the spot.

"I want to see Quil, I had a bad dream," she pouted, her little cheeks wobbling. Oh no. Crying kids. Not my favorite. Kids were good, I always wanted kids. But when they started crying...

"Honey, it's gonna be okay. Come here, you can tell me about the dream and I can fight all the monsters away," I said, trying not to panic. If she cried, she would snot (gross), and I wouldn't be able to get her to stop, and then my mom or Quil would come back and judge me and oh no.

She pondered for a second and nodded her head. Phew. "Come here." I patted the spot on the couch again. She crawled on the couch and in my arms. "What was your dream about, Clairey? It helps me to tell what it was about."

She sniffled and buried her head in my shoulder. "Quil got eated by the vampires," her five year old diction was endearing. But really, she had the weirdest dreams.

"Vampires aren't real, Clairey," I explained calmy, smoothing her hair down.

"Yes they are, and Quilly's a wolf, he fights them," she countered, entirely serious. How cute.

"He must be very brave," I played along, smiling, Claire pulled her face back from my shoulder to look at me.

"He is! My Quil is very brave," she nodded quickly, agreeing. Then her face suddenly turned sad again. "But what if he gets eated?"

I took a deep breath, trying to come up with something that would ease her fears. "Well, if he's a wolf, he must have a pack to help him fight the vampires?" I phrased it as a question, making it up as I went along. In all my years of babysitting, I never had to rationalize a nightmare like this.

"Yeah..." she said slowly, "Sethy, Leah, Unca Jay, Unca Sam, Pauly," she started listing people's names off on her fingers. "Pauly's" name sent my heart fluttering, and I almost started daydreaming about his eyes again, but I snapped out of it quickly. "Embwy, Jared, Collin, Bwady, ummmm there are more but I don't remember."

This kid thought half of the res were wolves by the sound of it.

"Then Quil has a lot of people to help him out, and they wouldn't let him get eaten, would they?"

She slowly shook her head, then nodded, understanding.

"You're right, Cassie!" she exclaimed, clapping her hands. "You're the best. Can we go to Aunt Em's now? She said she was gonna make me chocolate pudding." I laughed at her sudden exuberance and nodded.

"Sure, I'm not one to miss out on pudding," actually, at the thought of it, my stomach growled. I felt like I could eat a horse. "Go put your shoes on."

I grabbed my keys off the couch next to me and threw my shoes on too, which we a little snug. Weird. My feet hadn't grown in like, two years.

"Do you like my new car?" I grinned, buckling Claire in the back. I silently prayed she didn't need a car-seat, Quil would probably have a heart attack.

* * *

Emily was cooking dinner when we got there. She never seemed to be still in the kitchen, always moving around, something to be stirred, something to be flipped. I asked if I could help, she gave me a spoon and said, stir this.

Honestly, I wasn't hoping for a gossip session, but that was kind of what I expected when I got to Emily's. Instead she was like a dutiful housewife cooking dinner for her family.

I didn't know much about what I wanted to be, but I knew I didn't want to be that. I wanted to provide for my family in more ways than cooking and cleaning all hours of the day.

Claire was watching _Cinderella _in the living room, so I couldn't use her as an excuse to escape the kitchen. Luckily, I didn't have to. Three large forms burst through the door suddenly. Quil walked in and headed straight towards the living room, he probably heard Claire's giggling at the movie from outside. Another boy who I didn't recognize followed Quil, and the third was...

"Sethy!" I screeched, dropping the sauce-covered spoon on the counter top and launching myself into my cousins arms.

Seth was the only cousin I had that wasn't older than me. We had always gotten along easily, even easier than Emily and myself. He and I were best friends when I left La Push at eight years old.

He automatically returned my hug, squeezing me tightly and I realized how _built_ he was. Just like pretty much everyone else around here...

"Seriously, _are _you guys on steroids or something? Because everyone around here is gigantic."

"I missed you too, Cassie," Seth joked, pulling back.

"I really did miss you," I assured him. "Nobody in Georgia could replace you."

"Thanks, Cass. I've yet to come across anyone in La Push that could replace you either. Glad to have you back."

"Where is everyone else?" Emily asked from the kitchen, not looking up from her creation. Seth rushed over and started pulling plates and cups out of the cupboards to set on the table.

"Sam and Paul took the outside today, so they'll probably be a few more minutes," he said, knowing Emily only really cared about where Sam was. "Kim and Jared are on their way, so are Jake and Nessie, Collin and Brady are working and Leah didn't want to come, but I'll text her that Cassie's here and I'm sure she'll show." Seth finished quickly, going through a mental list on his fingers. I noticed that his list was very similar to Claire's. It probably explained why they were all wolves in her imagination, she seemed to be around all these people a lot.

"Well, this will be a great night!" Emily exclaimed happily, and I smiled back at her.

Great might not be the way I would've described it, but it was definitely interesting.

* * *

**A/N: Whew, that was long. Lots of stuff going on in that chapter, hmmm ;) **

**Well, please review, I love hearing your feedback! **


	4. Chapter 4

Chapter 4

The moment Sam walked in the door he took over stirring about four things for Emily. You could hear him scolding her lightly for working so hard as he kissed her scars, and then her mouth.

Paul walked through the door a few seconds afterwards I couldn't help raking my eyes over his body. He was shirtless.

That definitely wasn't a problems for me. His abs were impeccable, and his skin looked smooth and a beautiful russet color, much similar to mine but somehow infinitely better. A pair of cargo shorts were slung low on his hips, giving my eyes access to the sloping V shape that lead to... other areas. It didn't seem like he was wearing underwear. His short cropped hair hung almost to his eyes, but he pushed it back and it stuck up wildly.

A throat clearing from behind me jerked me from my staring. I jumped and turned beet red, if it was possible for the color to shine through my tan cheeks.

Paul let out a throaty laugh, his cheeks a similar color as I'm sure mine were, and he took a glance at me before sitting at the table next to Seth and basically right across from me.

Was he... looking at me too?

_No, Cassie, don't do this. Don't give yourself hope. You are dorky, sarcastic, Cassie who has no idea what she's doing with her life. You don't need a brutal crush on a bad boy with little to no probability of success. Stop. _My conscience berated me. It was right.

"So, Cassie," Paul charmed. "How are you adjusting to life in La Push?" I wanted to swoon at his smile, or his caring words, but I couldn't let myself be affected.

"I lived here for eight years, I'm doing just fine," I said shortly, trying to cover up my attraction with a little extra sass. "How are you adjusting?"

"Uh, adjusting? To what?" he seemed a little tense. Good. This was good.

"To not having every girl swoon over you the second they saw you, of course." I said sweetly, provoking a laugh from Seth and a look of bewilderment from Paul. "You'll have to excuse me," I smiled, getting up from my chair and speed walking into the living room...

Where everyone was looking at me. I smiled and took a seat on the floor next to Claire casually, where even she was staring at me.

"...What?" I said, discomfort creeping into my voice.  
"'What?'" Quil laughed. "She totally burns Paul Lahote and says, 'what?' You go girl, you just earned my respect. I'm never messing with you again." I raised an eyebrow. One sarcastic remark and Quil was denouncing his hate for me?

Everyone else in the room grumbled in agreement. Embry and Jared, who I was introduced to not two minutes before, looked upset.

"She's like Leah two-thousand," one of them grumbled. I couldn't really tell them apart. Everyone looked so similar here. The girl, Kim, smacked his shoulder and I recognized him as Jared.

"Don't pretend you aren't impressed," she scolded, then turned to me and said a quick, quiet, "that was _good._"

"Thanks, but really, it was nothing." I was starting to feel a little remorse for Paul. It was an offhand comment, one used on many men before, but I never got as much praise as this. After a few minutes everyone went back to what they were doing, but I still felt uncomfortable.

Just a few hours ago, I was only worried about hurting Paul's feelings because of a car, but now I actually felt bad for doing it.

"Hey, people, food's ready!" Sam's deep voice echoed through the house, causing everyone to stampede into the kitchen. I was careful not to make eye contact with Paul.

All the food was on the counter. And when I say all the food, I mean like more than I thought could fit onto a counter. Emily's grocery bills must be off the charts.

"Ladies first," Sam chastised when Embry sprinted up to the front of the line. Emily got her food, then Kim, and then Quil served Claire, and lastly me. I kind of felt bad taking so much but I was _hungry. _I chalked it up to eating barely anything all day, sitting at the table next to the girls.

Well, not exactly. Kim saved a seat next to her for Jared, and Emily sat across from Kim but saved Sam a seat at the head of the table, so I sat next to her and across from Jared, leaving an empty space open next to me.

I don't know if I could explain how high my stress levels went up waiting to see who would sit next to me.

I would prefer Seth, or even Quil at this point, him and Claire were probably a package deal. Anyone but Paul. I really didn't want to have to talk to him after the earlier incident.

Quil sat down next to Jared, and Claire on his lap, and then Seth sat next to them.

Hell, I would even take Embry at this point. I didn't even know the guy but it would be better than Paul. And none other made his way towards me with two plates of food in his hands. Fatty.

He sat down next to me with a grunt, and I didn't look at him. I couldn't.

Everyone was eating, but I stared straight at my plate of food, stomach growling. I didn't really feel like eating anymore.

"Are you okay?" Paul's deep voice whispered into my ear. I still didn't look at him.

"Why wouldn't I be?" I said casually.

"You just seem a little quiet. Doesn't seem like you."

"You don't even know me," I said icily.

"Aha," he laughed a little. "But I want to." I had to look at him. I glanced up from my plate, my eyes narrowed.

"You're just saying that."

"I'm really not, sweetheart," there was that word again. He was almost worse than me with his sarcastic tone, but his held more charm.

"Can you not?"

"What?" his flirty voice turned defensive quickly.

"Call me that."

He put his hands up innocently and motioned zipping his lips shut. I rolled my eyes and put a forkful of food up to my mouth.

"So, if you're from Georgia," he questioned, "why don't you have a southern accent."

"Why, you mean, like this?" I said, my words dripping with a southern lilt. "I suppose, I could talk like this all the time if you'd like." Whenever I spoke southern, it came out a little more condescending than I am for. He made a face.

"Please don't."

I shrugged. "All the adults I met in Georgia talked to me just like that, and I kind of made a whole new persona with it. Down south it's don't speak unless you're spoken to for the children." My voice was back to normal. "When I went to school that year, I was a brat to my teachers and I got in so much trouble. My dad told me I couldn't talk like that anymore and I went back to normal."

"You mean it's possible for you to be more bratty than you are now?" he joked. I hit him playfully on the shoulder.  
"You're sooo funny," I said sarcastically, but then I actually laughed. Everyone at the table was having their own conversations up until that point, but they suddenly looked up. And saw Paul and I laughing hysterically. They were probably actually looking at Jake, Leah(!), and a pale teenage girl walk through the door, but we _were_ sitting right in front of it.

"Cass!" Leah screeched, holding her arms out for a hug as I jumped out of my chair and into her arms.

"Lee-lee!" I said loudly and she stiffened and released me from her grasp.

"Not my most favorite nickname, Sie-sie," she said, using _my_ least favorite nickname in response. "Sie-sie" pronounced "Sea-sea" was something my mom always called me when I was little and I _hated _it.

"Ugh, yeah. Sorry," I made a face and hugged her again before she went to get food.

Jacob and the pale girl sat down next to each other and I noticed she didn't have much on her plate. She was already so skinny, and she looked really young.

"You shouldn't starve yourself you know," I said to her. It was kind of mean but it needed to be said. Everyone stared at me with wide eyes, especially Jacob. Well, he looked more like he wanted to stick red hot fire pokers in my eyes. "Listen, you're really pretty and probably really nice, but you're so skinny already, I just don't want you to think that starving yourself is okay."

I meant well, I really did.

"She's a vegetarian," Seth blurted, breaking a little bit of the tension. Still nobody said anything. I wasn't about to apologize though, I didn't want to encourage a teenage girl's eating disorder.

"Pile on the protein then, girl. I'm serious. You need to eat more," I said a little more lightheartedly. She shifted in her seat a little bit, staring at her plate, then looked up at me.

"I think I like you," she said pointedly, and everyone laughed, instantly turning the air around us back to normal. "I'm Renesmee, but you can call me Nessie, everyone does."

"Cassie," I smiled in response.

After that dinner was easy. I learned that Paul's middle name was James after Emily screamed it at him, I learned that Kim wasn't as shy as I thought, and I learned that Nessie was having her sixteenth birthday party next Friday – apparently her aunt threw the best ones, and I was invited.

We all helped Emily clean up and Sam and Emily loaded the dishwasher while I got the cake plates out. Apparently they had a special announcement.

Emily brought in the cake, which was covered with tin foil so we couldn't see it. She set it down on the table, wiped her hands on her jeans, and turned to Sam.

"Well, um," she started awkwardly.

"We don't really know how to tell you this but..." Sam continued.

"Just say it!" I complained, then covered my mouth with my hand. Oops?

"This is just part one of the announcement. We'll tell you the rest at the bonfire on Friday," Sam said carefully.

"We're having a baby!" Emily blurted.

Kim, Nessie and I all started shrieking at the same time, jumping up to hug Emily. All the guys gave Sam one of those bro hugs.

"Wow, you did an awesome job keeping it from us, it never even slipped through your thoughts." I could hear Paul whispering. Either he wasn't very good at it, or my hearing was freakishly amazing.

"What do you mean, never slipped through your thoughts?" I said skeptically, half laughing. Everyone stopped talking. Then Claire spoke up.

"Duh, Cassie, they're wolves!"

A couple people laughed awkwardly, and Paul and Sam just stared at me.

"Awww Claire-Bear, that's silly," Quil said, chuckling fakely. He gave her a harsh look. "they're not wolves, they're people!"

"Really Quilly, stop pretending, we all know you're werewolves."

"_Claire,_" he said sharply, any trace of a joke leaving his tone. Her face went into an "O" shape and she smacked a hand over her mouth.

"Oops, I forgotted," she said innocently, and then turned to me, "werewolves aren't real."

The whole situation was kind of bizarre.

I think somehow everyone but Sam, Emily, Paul, Quil, Claire, and Leah slipped out of the room.

Was this some kind of joke? This must have taken them ages to set up.

Unless – they actually were werewolves.

...Nah.

But if they were, they would probably have to kill me if I found out. Claire was young, they wouldn't kill her, and everyone else was dating one of them. Well, except Nessie but her and Jake seemed pretty close.

Yeah, they would definitely kill me if they thought I knew.

I opened my mouth to start talking, but then closed it again. "I think it's probably hereditary," I finally said. "I had a very overactive imagination too, when I was a kid."

Everyone seemed to let out a deep breath.

"So did I," Leah and Emily said quickly, laughing.

"She is very creative," Quil said awkwardly.

Sam and Paul just kept staring.

"Well, I gotta go. It's been a really long day." I said stiffly after a few moments. "Congratulations." I smiled tightly at Emily, giving her a hug and then Leah. Sam opened his arms for one too at the last second. It was a quick hug, and when he pulled away he looked at me with a concentrated look.

Paul just stuck his hand out for a handshake and I grabbed it awkwardly. I was never much good at handshakes.

"I'll take Claire home in a few minutes," Quil said, and she whined.

"Okay, see ya," I mumbled walking out the door.

Before I got into my truck I heard Emily say, very faintly, "she was really hot."

Like I said, interesting.


	5. Chapter 5

Chapter 5

Paul

"She's showing all the signs, Sam!" I yelled tersely, running a hand through my jet black hair.

"We don't know if it will happen yet," he said firmly. That was Sam, ever calm, ever unreasonable.

"We don't know that it _won't_." I tried to control my shaking body, closing my eyes and breathing deeply never did it all the way for me. I snatched up a fountain pen off Jake's desk and held it in my fist at my side. My fingers traced over the contours and angles of the small object as I focused on not making it's ink explode all over the room.

"I just don't think she's ready yet, it's only been a few days –,"

"Don't." I cut him off. "Don't tell me what you think is right for her. I know her."  
"You've known her for a few _days_, Paul. I'm her uncle."

I choked out a laugh.

"So you, as her uncle, think it's best for her to be confused and frightened when it happens? What if she phases all alone, Sam? What if someone falls asleep on patrol and she's all alone out there? What's she gonna think?"

"I'm not sure, but whoever is patrolling will be able to tell me. And you know nobody falls asleep on the job. It's not exactly comfortable."

I rolled my eyes, but didn't say anything for a long time. Sam sat on the plush chair Jacob custom ordered, leaning his head over the top and closing his eyes. His breathing evened out and after a while I thought he'd fallen asleep before he suddenly shifted to look at me.

"I'm not going to order you not to tell her, but just think. If she doesn't end up phasing, is it worth springing this on her so soon?"

"It'll be worth it," I said, standing up straighter, a smile making it's way upon my face. "I promise."

"Don't make me regret this..." Sam said cautiously, throwing his head back over the chair. "I'm going home now. Emily's grilling steaks tonight and I'm not letting her do it. And Paul? Think about my offer – from earlier."

I nodded in understanding and on that note, we both left the Garage and headed separate directions towards our imprints.

Cassie

There was not much to do around La Push. That I had figured out after about five hours into my second full day there.

I took a run, that last about two hours. Then I played with Claire-Bear (Quil is infecting me) for a while but that got boring fast. Then I decided to go shopping but I didn't have much gas in my car... and I didn't have much money.

Then it occurred to me I might have to get a job.

I threw on some of my nicer clothes and skipped out the door. Into my low-fuel car.

My first stop was Great Aunt Sue's office. She was a decorator, a job she'd scored a few years back, around the time Claire was born.

I walked in the door and no chimes or bells signaled my entrance. In fact, it didn't look like anyone was there at all.

"Hello?" I called out innocently. A door opened and my... mother stepped out.

"Hi, honey, what are you doing here?"

"I could say the same. I came to ask Aunt Sue about any job openings."

"Oh, that's great," she said, looking past me at the door. "I'd better get going."

"See you at home later?" I asked, trying not to sound hopeful.

"Yeah, sure," she said offhandedly as she walked out the door.

And there you have it, the longest conversation I'd had with my mother since the Quil incident. You would think that she'd like to spend some time with the daughter she hadn't seen in years. Or the one that was only five years old and needed her mom.

"Cassie! What a lovely surprise!" Aunt Sue exclaimed suddenly, pulling me into a tight embrace. "What has brought you here today?"

I giggled and hugged her back. "What, I can't just come to see my favorite Great Aunt?" She took a step back and looked at me with raised eyebrows. "Okay, okay, I was wondering where I could find a job around here." She smiled, the kind of smile that reached her eyes and crinkled her forehead.

That was my favorite thing about Sue, her smile and ability to will one onto anyone and everyone around her.

"Well, we just filled our receptionist job, a nice young girl, Kim? You might have met her."

"I've met her," I nodded.

"But I do know that Lawrence Lahote could use a hand down at his shop... I'll give him a call and you can head down there." ...Lahote? As in _Paul _Lahote? Maybe they were related and I'd run into him... you know, accidentally.

Sue called him and scribbled some directions for me down on a pad of paper and I was on my way.

I drove a short distance and parked in the small parking lot in front of the convenience store. It was a charming store, it looked more like a small grocery store than a convenience shop. It was made of red brick and had a huge sign that read "Law's."

Not much better than The Garage.

Really, La Push had issues with names.

I swung open the door to hear a refreshing chime, that was always my favorite part of going to a smaller store, hearing the door chime when I walked in.

A man was standing behind the counter to my right. He was small and slight, a totally different build than Paul so I began to assume they weren't related.

Then I noticed the way he stood with his chest puffed out the same way, and the way his eyebrows curved up, and the way his ears were a little too big for his head.

Definitely related.

"Hello, you must be Cassie," he said with a small smile. It wasn't the same as Sue's, not at all. It was a broken smile, a movement of only his lips, one with no meaning.

"And you must be Lawrence," I responded pleasantly. "Sue said you might have a job for me? I have a resume on my computer at –,"

"No need for that," he cut me off. "If you want it, the job's yours. I need someone three or four days a week, eight to eight."

"I can do that," I responded automatically. I liked the way he ran things.

"Great. You can start tomorrow. I'll just give you the run down right now so you don't have to bother with that later," I opened my mouth to agree but he just kept talking. "We have a few regulars. They sometimes don't have all the money they need to pay, but we keep a running charge. Their names are on a list in the cash register."

"Okay."

"There is also a list of names in the cash register who gets thirty percent off. Something about council work, blah blah blah, honestly, I don't care."  
"Who does?" I retorted and he let out a small laugh.

"I like you. The code for the cash register is 1990, your smock is in the back, all you really gotta do is check people out, but the weeks when I need you four days that fourth day will be stocking. That's every other week. I'll leave your schedule in the back room too, on the white board so you know," he fired information at me so fast I could hardly keep up.

"Wow, okay, anything else?"

"I don't think so, do you think so?" He asked, smiling that smile again.

"Oh!" I exclaimed after a few seconds. "Payment?"

"I was under the impression you were doing this for free," he said, entirely serious.

"Ummm..." I didn't really have anything to say to that.

"Kidding," he actually laughed, "life is just one big joke kid, you've got to learn to laugh at it. How is ten dollars per hour?"

"That sounds perfect," I said in my interview voice, smiling even though what he said really got to me.

It's hard to laugh at life when you really hate your laugh.

I figured I might as well enjoy my last day before starting work, so I changed into my suit, packed a bag, and exchanged a wordless glance with Quil before darting down to the beach.

Back home I would have had friends to call up to go with me. But back home the beach was a few hours away. So I guess it wasn't the same sort of trip at all.

Everything was so different here. At least the things that mattered.

It was foolish to think that after two days I would already have my whole life sorted out but I still felt like I was a piece of laundry stuck in the spin cycle, with no way to escape it and no way to stop it. Sooner or later I was going to have to grow up and get a real job, not one in a convenience store. Someday I was probably going to have to go to college, as much as I didn't want to. I would have to face the real world.

But today wasn't that day. Today I was going to sit on a rock alone on First Beach and wallow about my pathetic life. Or so I thought.

I should have registered that the slight sound of crunching sand behind me meant someone was approaching, and the heat radiating off that someone's body should have made me turn around, but I stared straight at the ocean and watched the waves crash onto shore instead.

"What do you want?" I said, in a large of a voice as I could muster up.

"I – I just wanted to see if you were okay," Paul's husky voice murmured from behind me. Somehow I knew it was him.

"I'm fine. You can go now," I whispered. He didn't reply, but moved to sit next to me on the rock. It was big enough for two. "Really, you don't have to keep worrying about me. I'll be okay." He was silent for a long time.

"You know, I'm not really good at this sort of thing." he said bluntly.

"What sort of thing do you mean?"

"Feelings and shit. I mean, stuff," he replied hastily.

"Holy hell, me neither. Why do you think I'm sitting on this rock instead of facing my actual problems?" I laughed.

"Seems like a good way to me, usually I go and break stuff," he shrugged, chuckling as well. I turned to look at his smiling face, then remembered why I was here in the first place and my grin faded. "So what_ are _your actual problems?" he said softly, nudging me in the shoulder. I let out a deep sigh.

"Life, I guess," I said cryptically and he looked at me quizzically.  
"Meaning?"

"I don't know what I want to do with it. I don't know who I am. I don't know where I want to live, what I want to be, I don't know, I don't know, I don't know!" I ended up yelling, but I didn't let my cheeks tinge.

"You don't have to, really. Nobody does," he said after a few moments. "I don't know and I'm twenty-two."

"You have The Garage," I supplied, looking at him as he stared out at the ocean, and then looking where he was just as he turned to look at me.

"I do," he agreed. "But I don't know if that's what I want to do anymore. I was only nineteen – your age, when I opened the garage with Jake. Just graduated from high school, no idea what to do with my life, and when he asked if I would go in it with him, I said yes. But now, I'm not so sure if I made the right choice."

"Gee, thanks, that's helpful. Tell me you made the completely wrong choice when you were in my situation."

"No, Cass, that's not what I'm saying," he protested, but his words were lost on me when I heard 'Cass' tumble out of his lips. He gave me a nickname, and the way he said it made it sound like cotton candy. "I just – don't make the wrong decision because you feel like you have to make one. It doesn't have to be now, or for a few months or years even. And when the time comes, you'll know what feels right. Don't do something just because you don't know what else to do."

That was – actually really good advice. I looked at him again, at his godly tan face, short black hair and too-big ears.

"Thanks, Paul," I said genuinely, "that actually really helped."

"Anytime, Cassie."

"I might have to take you up on that."

"I mean it when I say it, anytime."

I hopped off the rock, and did what I felt right and kissed him on the cheek.


End file.
